Shiver
by easytodancewith
Summary: Brooke/Audrey. So Brooke's in the shower, and Audrey hates herself. (Based on episode 2x5.)


It's messed up that the cops chose Audrey to stay with Brooke.

Like, sure, Brooke said "Please don't make them leave" - meaning Emma and Audrey - but the two of them were a package deal. Everyone knows that Emma's the best friend and Audrey's the buy-one-get-one-free. Audrey does, Emma does, Maggie does... even Brooke, lost in the depths of her grief, is looking dazedly at Emma, not at Audrey.

But Audrey doesn't make the rules. Audrey's _never_ been the one making the rules, and honestly, that's why they're in this predicament in the first place - because she let Piper play her like a piano and someone else knows about it. Now that person is out there killing people, and Jake's dead and Emma's higher on the Sheriff's list and Brooke's covered in her boyfriend's blood and "Jensen, you stay."

What Audrey wants to do is run out of the auditorium, drive home and beat the hell out of her punching bag, or maybe a wall. What Audrey _actually_ does is touch Emma's arm and say "Hey, it's OK - I've got this" in this soft, calm voice she doesn't know how she's even capable of producing right now.

Once Audrey sees the look in Emma's eyes, she has to admit she's glad about the dumb Sheriff's dumb list. Emma's seen enough blood, enough bodies - and unlike Audrey, she didn't invite any of it.

 **xXx**

So Brooke's in the shower, and Audrey hates herself. The blood that dripped off Brooke's body as she walked to the locker room, the blood she's washing off her face and out of her hair, it's _all_ on Audrey's hands, and Audrey _hates_ herself. She's seen Jake's dead body twice now, and that's two times too many.

"I should've said something," she murmurs to herself.

"What?" Brooke calls as the dull roar of the water slows to a trickle, and for a second, Audrey's blood runs cold.

"Um - are you OK in there?" she calls back.

"No."

Brooke pulls back the shower curtain, looking small and frail and tear-stained. The cops took her clothes away in a bag and most of her makeup came off in the shower, so if it weren't for the towel hugging her thin frame and the stubborn remnants of mascara around her eyes, she'd be totally exposed. Truthfully, Audrey's almost as shocked by the absence of the other girl's armor and warpaint as she was by seeing Jake's body - both times.

"It just feels like this awful nightmare," Brooke says unsteadily as her hair drips water onto her shoulders. "I mean, it just doesn't feel real."

Audrey flashes back to right after Rachel died, how time seemed to pass so slowly and, at the same time, way too fast.

"I know," she says quietly.

She hates that losing someone they were dating just got added to the very short list of things she and Brooke have in common.

"Is this really all happening again?" Brooke asks blankly.

Audrey doesn't know what to say, doesn't know if there's anything _to_ say, and Brooke shivers in her towel.

"Well, they took my clothes - do they have anything else for me to wear, or do they want me to wander the halls naked?"

Audrey was afraid of this part. Like, if Jake's body falling from the ceiling above her didn't make Brooke have a complete meltdown, all signs point to _this_ as the thing that finally pushes her over the edge.

"Well..." She walks over to a bench in the locker room and gingerly holds up a cheerleader outfit. "They found this."

Brooke stares at her, and Audrey's pretty sure the other girl's either going to go nuclear or - yeah, that's pretty much the only outcome she can foresee here.

"Hilarious," Brooke says flatly, heading back to the showers to change.

Brooke's non-reaction reminds Audrey of herself after Rachel died, and for a second, she wishes the two of them could switch places. She's dealt with this already - she survived it, at least kind of (although sometimes she misses Rachel so much she could die) - but she'd sign up for a rerun if it meant sparing Brooke's pain. Ultimately, Brooke's just like Emma. She's innocent; Audrey's not.

When Brooke reappears, she looks hauntingly poised. Now that she's dressed, it's as if her body's on autopilot - head up, shoulders down, back straight - but there's still water seeping from the sodden tendrils of her blonde hair. When a droplet hits her clavicle, she shivers.

"Hey, do you want..." Audrey's voice dries up, and she clears her throat. "Do you want to borrow my jacket? It's - your hair's wet. It'll keep you warm."

She feels weirdly like she's begging, like she's seeking atonement in the form of a thrift store leather jacket, and she's not sure who out of the two of them is more surprised when Brooke says yes.

 **xXx**

Brooke must still be in shock - and, honestly, who could blame her? - because when Audrey slips off the jacket and holds it out, the other girl just kind of gazes at it like she's somewhere very far away.

"OK," Audrey says quietly. "Can I - is it OK if I touch you?"

Brooke nods.

"OK, I'm just gonna..."

Audrey circles Brooke slowly, easing Brooke's bare arms into the sleeves. If this were a different place and time, Audrey would comment that the jacket kind of suits her, but instead she wordlessly runs her hands through Brooke's damp hair, lifting it out from beneath the collar. She smoothes it carefully, knowing Brooke would want to look as good as humanly possible in her weird hybrid of an outfit, even in such extenuating circumstances.

"Thanks," Brooke says hoarsely.

Audrey wants to say a million things - _I'm sorry_ and _This is all my fault_ and _I think you still look beautiful_ \- but the words won't come, and it's probably best that they don't.

She looks at the floor.

"You're welcome."


End file.
